


Hell I Don't Know by Banshee

by 852_Prospect_Archivist



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Drama/Romance, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-10
Updated: 2013-05-10
Packaged: 2017-12-11 05:33:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/794461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/852_Prospect_Archivist/pseuds/852_Prospect_Archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Jim misses Blair's special presentation at the U, Blair gets upset.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hell I Don't Know by Banshee

Disclaimers: not mine, etc.....

Notes: Okay the deal is I want some fiction. I'm having mid terms stress and fiction is the best way (if not the only way) to deal with it. But being the fair person that I am, I realize that I can't really bitch about not getting any fiction unless I post something. So here is a little something that I was working on a bit a go. It was going to be part of something bigger but I kind of ran out gas on it. Any suggestions about where to go next let me know. No sex, just kind of pre slash. No one else has gone over this so spelling and such is sure to be bad. You have been warned....

Summary: not really long enough for one. Oh the title has nothing to do with anything.

Warnings: none

**Hell I Don't Know**

by

Banshee 

The sound of angry footsteps preceded Blair Sandburg up the stairs. Stopping in front of apartment 307, he dug around in his pocket until he found his key. With more force then necessary, the key was jammed into the lock, and the door was opened.

The loft was not empty Blair noticed. There was one light on in the living room and the sound of water being shut off coming from the bathroom. Blair couldn't decide if this made he feel better or not. Pitching his keys in the direction of the basket, with no real effort to actually make it, Blair headed towards the kitchen.

"How did your night go?" Asked Jim as he exited the bathroom and headed for the kitchen himself.

"If you are so interested in it why didn't you come?" retorted Blair shooting a nasty look at the older man who visibly flinched under it.

"Something came up," replied Jim softly.

Blair caught the smell of stale alcohol as Jim passed on him. "So I can smell!" Jim turned at the younger man's sharp tone to reply, but was cut off. "Why didn't you just say that you didn't want to come! That you wanted to go drinking at some dank little hole in the wall bar!" Blair was pacing the kitchen now, arms moving about with angry energy. "I wouldn't have tried to made you come if you didn't want to. Hell I wouldn't have asked if you hadn't seemed interested in it."

"I did want to come," interjected Jim, but Blair carried on, overriding the protest. 

"Yeah right. Jim," Blair said turning and pinning the older man with his eyes. "I planned this whole thing. I spent weeks getting everything all set up for the presentation. All the pieces from different departments and institutions......" The young man faltered for a moment trying to find the words to explain just how much of himself he had put into this. "And the whole time you promised that you were going to come." There was pain in that simple statement. Pain and anger.

"You were going to take me there. We were going to go together and you didn't show. Hell, you didn't even call! Would it have killed you to pick up the damn phone! I was almost late for my *own* presentation because I waited until the last minute. I was so sure that you would show up!" The feeling of betrayal easily heard in the words.

"Blair!" Jim's loud voice temporally shut the younger man up and Jim took the opening. "I'm a cop Blair. What in the hell was I going to do? Drop everything and come running? Was I going to tell Taggert that "no I would not cover the end of your shift" even thought he had just got a call that his daughter was just taken to the hospital? Was I going to tell Simon, " No, I'm leaving now" even though we are under staffed because half of the officers are out with the flew?" Jim's voice now rising to match Blair's from earlier.

"Blair I have 6 cases that I'm sitting on in which nothing is happening. I have the mayor and several other people who seem to think that the world revolves about them. And everyone of them seems to think they should be on the top of my list of things that should have been done yesterday!" Jim paused to take a breath, most of his anger leaving with it. 

"I really wanted to come Blair. I really did." his eyes pleading with the younger man's to believe him. "And yes I did try to call, but my cell phone has not been working since it got banged around the other day and I have not had time to replace it. And no, I did not go to the bar drinking with the guys. I got called in for a stake out at the last minute, then the guy made his move, and all hell broke loose." Jim made a face at the smell of stale beer that had caused him to all but shut down his sense of smell. "In the process I was tossed about pretty good and doused in stale beer, not the usual way I like to spend my evenings." 

All his energy apparently spent Jim waited for Blair's reaction.

Blair was quiet. Any anger he had before had left about halfway though Jim little speech and by the end he was ready to kick himself for behaving like such an ass. Now that he looked, really looked, he saw that Jim seemed to be death reincarnated. He was covered from head to toe, not only in old beer, but grime as well. 

For once Blair could actually see the years that separated them very well. The usually tall and proud stance had been replaced by tired movements and hunched shoulders. Jim's eyes were slightly reddened, probably from some sort of irritants picked up from the bar during the arrest, and there were dark circles forming under them.

Not knowing what to say Blair went for the obvious and safest choice. 

"I'm sorry man. I didn't mean to come down on you like that. Why don't you go take a nice hot shower. I'll make a quick snack for you."

"You don't have to do that Chief." replied Jim with a sigh. "I'm not all that hungry anyway."

"Man when was the last time you ate," pressed Blair, falling in to full guide mode. The only thought on his mind was making sure that Jim got the food and rest he deserved and needed. He would deal with his being a total and complete ass later to Jim. "You don't even remember do you?" asked Blair at Jim's lack of an instant answer. Lightly gripping Jim's shoulders, the smaller man turned him, gently propelling him towards the bathroom. 

* * * *

The first question that popped into Blair's mind was "when had all this happened?" And then he realized that Jim had looked like *this*, minus the beer and grim, for days if not weeks. Since about the time I started working on this big presentation at the U. came the reply. Blair groaned at the thought.

Well not quiet from the start. At first when Jim had found out about Blair putting on a presentation at the University everything had been great. Jim and supported him. Blair thought about it for a moment. Jim and done more then just support him, he had seemed really *interested* in what Blair was doing. He had listened. Well okay, so Jim usually listened, but this time he had even asked question. That had surprised Blair. 

Blair knew that he talked. A lot! That's just the way he was. There was so much out there to know and he wanted to share all that he had seen and had learned. Because he spent most of his time with Jim, that meant that Jim probable got more then his fare share of information and facts about what tribes in South American Jungles or the Congo did in their everyday lives. But Jim seemed to be more of a listener then a talker, and though he did on occasion tell Blair to shut up, more often then not he let Blair rattle happily along. One might believe that Jim just ignored him, Blair had thought that too for the longest time, until Jim would make a comment about something he had said. That was when Blair realized that Jim always seemed to have an ear tuned in on him.

With this whole presentation thing it had been different. Jim had ask question, after question about it. Not just surface questions, but really insightful ones. He had even made a few really good suggestions. Jim had understood when Blair had to beg off on some of the cop related stuff. Even suggested it then he saw that Blair was getting stressed and a little thinly spread over his projects and commitments. Blair really did like riding along with Jim, but there was just so much to do. Blair would never have believe that there was so much to do for something thing like this. People, places, things, all had to be juggled and arranged.

Blair opened the refrigerator and frowned for a moment. It was mostly bare and what was there had obviously been there for a *long* time. //When was the last time ether one of them had gone shopping?// Blair's mind shied away at the thought as he realized that is had been days if not a week or more. Closing the fridge he went to the cupboards and found the same thing. Nothing. With a sigh and a lot of substituting Blair began making a snack that would at least tie them over till he could go shopping tomorrow.

Just putting the finishing touches on the plates, Blair set them on the table. He looked up just in time to see Jim exit the bathroom and winced at what he saw. Jim of course was standing there, with just a towel wrapped about his waist, nothing unusual there. Blair had seen Jim like this many time and had always admired if not silently envied his perfectly bodied friend. The wide shoulders, thick chest, stomach and abs that rippled with muscles, all perfect in every way. No, this time what caught his eye were the bruises that dappled completely across his upper body. Jim had been down playing it when he said he had gotten tossed about pretty good. The man looked like he had gotten hit by a truck!

"Foods ready," said Blair as soon as he could pull he eyes away from bruised and battered chest.

"Thanks." replied Jim as he slowly made his way to the table and gingerly sat down.

Blair wanted to say something, but kept quite as his mind tried to find something to say with out shoved his foot farther into his mouth. Cleaning up the dishes as soon as all the food was eaten, he made some tea and handed a warmed mug to Jim.

"What is it?" The Sentinel sniffed it experimentally then gave Blair a questioning eye. 

"Nothing that will hurt you. Just something that will help you sleep and take away any aches and pains," Blair couldn't help but glance at darkening bruising on Jim's chest. "You know just some leaves and twigs" The last said with a small smile. The older man nodded before drinking it, emptying the mug in only a few swallows.

"Well I'm off to bed."

"Do you have to work tomorrow?" Blair asked hoping intently that the answer was no. 

"Yeah. You know paper work. It never seems to end." Standing, "At least I don't have to be in to work till 9am, that will let me get some sleep anyway." Again with slow movements that were so unlike him, Jim carefully made his way to the stairs. "Goodnight Blair."

"G'night Jim." was the soft reply.

* * * *

(end?)

Any suggestions about where to go next let me know.

Banshee


End file.
